The Story Of My Worst Job Ever: Part Two

Here is the second part chronicling my worst job ever. This job was not only a bad job because it didn’t work out, but it came pretty close to destroying a lot of parts of me that I have built over the years that led me to be successful at many jobs before and after. This job almost killed it.

My first day came and I was excited. The job was in a cool building, I was learning something new and I was ready to kick butt. I was looking forward to getting re-acquainted with the manager I’d interviewed with…and I did. For exactly one day.

He met me, brought me upstairs, showed me my desk, then explained that in the three weeks since my interview, he’d taken a lateral move and was now running a different group. The infrastructure group was going to be run by someone else, who I had never met before. We will call her Bridgette.

Upon meeting Bridgette, she was all business. She wanted nothing to do with hearing about my past, and wanted me to get started. She knew I had no auditing experience, which she didn’t really have much concern with, but she didn’t have much concern either with making sure I learned the ropes either.

The way it had previously been explained to me was that, even though I was a lead auditor, I would be teamed up with a lead auditor on at least 1-2 audits, the first one where I would be a junior auditor, and the second where I’d be a co-lead. Bridgette wanted no part of this. In fact, she told me that one of the other leads had given his resignation, so I needed to get with him, pick his brain, and get all the information so that I could pick up his audit. She felt that would be enough to get me ‘up to speed’.

The other lead auditor already had one foot out the door and basically spent about fifteen minutes handing over a couple of file folders and giving me a list of phone numbers. After that, I was on my own.

Not the first week I’d been hoping for.

Predictable Failure

Needless to say, that audit didn’t go all that great. Bridgette met with me regularly and couldn’t seem to understand why it was I wasn’t getting the basics. I tried explaining that I was supposed to have been given more time to learn the process, but she wasn’t really interested. At that point, I probably should have realized I was screwed, but in the past, I’d been given the ‘dive in and sink or swim’ treatment when it came to new technologies, and I always picked it up just like that. I figured I could do the same with this.

The problem was that I was able to do that because technology came a lot easier to me than learning a new process. I didn’t realize this at the time, but if I would have, I probably would have started looking for other jobs and just taken the loss.

But I didn’t.

I kept on.

The Second And Third Act

By this point, Bridgette had already likely made up her mind on me. So, shame on me for not realizing that I wasn’t going to make this work, but shame on her for not being a good manager and saying ‘Hey, I just don’t think this is for you’.

But she didn’t do that. Because she was the devil. At this point, I had gone of being fearful of her yet trying to please her to simply believing that was awful. I hated going to work because it meant seeing her. When she came in (I got in first) and I heard her coming, it sent a feeling of dread upon me that lasted the rest of the day. It wasn’t healthy.

She assigned me as a junior auditor on the next audit. I was given all my goals and I did them. When she reviewed me at the end, she wanted to know why I didn’t step up and take more of the lead’s responsibilities. I told her that I wasn’t the lead, but apparently it was assumed that I would co-lead, even though it was made perfectly clear that there was only one lead.

Interlude

Bridgette had this computer case that was bright pink. I have no idea why as she had none of the cheerfulness associated with someone who loves pink. Still, she had it. One day we were looking for a birthday gift for my father-in-law and he wanted a new computer bag, so we went to Staples. While we were looking, I spotted the same bag that Bridgette had, and I started kicking it. Right there in the store.

My then fiancé (she still married me, can you believe it?) actually had to pull me away from kicking this computer bag.

See, what I realize now is that this job was eating at me. It was taking the image I had built of myself as a successful, confident person, and it was being torn apart, bit by bit. I can say this now, but at the time, I wouldn’t admit it. Not even to myself. If my fiancé or parents asked how work was going, I would always answer positively. Same with friends. I couldn’t even admit to myself that it wasn’t good.

I’ll wrap up tomorrow with the inevitable conclusion and some of the lessons learned, as well as see how things turned out in the grander scheme of things.

Ouch. The manager can make or break a job. One of the reasons we take jobs is because of who we will be working for. If they move on like that it can completely change things.Sean @ One Smart Dollar recently posted..Should You Pay off Your Mortgage Early?

That was a tough situation! I think this happens more often than we realize. Your manager can help or hinder your efforts just by changing objectives, poor communication skills or personality conflicts. Your colleagues probably could have helped you more.krantcents recently posted..Superstitions and Your Money

It was a very individualized enviornment so colleagues were kind of not very helpful. Plus, when the manager made it pretty clear that I wasn’t meeting her expectations, they pretty much sense blood in the water.

That sounds like an awful job and I would have just quit. You know when you aren’t going to get anywhere with your upper management and this sounds like it. I had to laugh .. when you said she was the devil and about associating Pink with happiness which she clearly didn’t have. I’m glad you didn’t get thrown out the shop haha. You gotta love your job! Mr.CBBCanadianbudgetbinder recently posted..The Grocery Game Challenge-Oct 30-Nov 4,2012 Halloween and Rain!

Oh no! That’s what happened to me too! After my team lead left, the manager was not interested in supporting the learning aspect of the job at all. And he constantly made snide remarks about my work. Ugh. That’s the job I ended up quitting.CF recently posted..3 Ideas for a cheap and frugal Halloween